Michigan State University is suspending face-to-face instruction as of noon today, the result of two confirmed coronavirus cases in Michigan and news that the Ingham County Health Department is investigating and monitoring an individual linked with the MSU campus.
President Samuel Stanley Jr. says in a campuswide email that coursework is moving to virtual instruction until April 20th.
Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail says the individual is a student who is being tested, with results of that test expected on Thursday afternoon. Vail says the student is linked to the coronavirus case that has been confirmed in Wayne County. “The person did spend some time in the home, although not a long time," Vail explains, "and a lot of the Coronavirus cases have to do with very close-knit contact and caretaking of individuals. Certainly, that person was not in that kind of situation.”
Vail says the student is currently in self-quarantine.
Stanley encourages students working remotely to return to their permanent place of residence, citing advantages to social distancing.
The university is evaluating the status of large events that have already been scheduled, many with outside groups, and will not schedule new events on campus with more than 100 people in a confined space unless there are special circumstances.
MSU has suspended all international travel. Non-essential domestic travel is also suspended until April 20th.
